The Great Green Wall initiative is hosting an international forum to build new partnerships and accelerate progress in tackling one of this century’s defining development challenges – land degradation, desertification and drought.

The groundbreaking Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) today agreed to develop a set of assessments on pollination and food production, land degradation and invasive species aimed at providing policymakers with the tools to tackle pressing environmental challenges.

Philippine fishers face immense damage to the fisheries and aquaculture sectors in regions affected by Typhoon Haiyan, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization said today, calling for prompt and sustainable actions to help rebuild livelihoods.

Securing land tenure, providing access to resources for mountain family farms, and improving basic infrastructure in mountain regions are among the key solutions to improving the livelihoods and food security of mountain and lowland communities, FAO said today.

Queen Máxima of the Netherlands, the UN Secretary General's Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development (UNSGSA), wrapped up a two-day trip to Ethiopia to support Ethiopia's efforts to make financial services more accessible to the rural poor.

European countries are encouraged to apply the principles of a green economy in the forest sector by 2020, FAO and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) said today at the opening of the European Forest Week (9-13 December) in Rovaniemi, Finland.